"Unexpected? True, we didn't expect it, but then again, we don't know the warning signs as a doctor should," said Bouley, who suspects that drugs Kooshian gave Howard for HIV raised cholestrol counts and directly contributed to the death. "It's his job to know what is going on inside a patient to whom he is giving potentially toxic medications—drugs that can causeside effects such as clots, clogged arteries and increased heart-attack risks. He wasn't paying attention."

Though he's no longer a plaintiff in his lover's death, the 40-year-old Bouley—who now works weekends at KGO-AM in San Francisco—is weary but optimistic.

"I think I'm going to get back in this case," he predicted. "All I want is a chance to get a ruling from a jury about what happened to Andrew. I knew it was going to be tough, but this is ridiculous."